A teenager has been arrested and accused of assaulting his high school teacher after a cell phone video captured the student’s attack.
A 16-year-old New Jersey teenager who attends John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson was seen in the video slamming the teacher to the ground in response to the teacher confiscating his cell phone while in class.
In the video the ninth grader can be seen wrapping his arms around the 62-year-old teacher, knocking him into a desk. The student then pushed him across the room and then knocked him to the ground. The boy is attempting to grab something from the teacher’s hand, most likely the confiscated cell phone, while in the background someone yells for security.
The school’s principal of operations, David Cozart told The Paterson Press, that incidence took place during a physics class, and that teachers are indeed allowed to take student’s cell phones if they are using them for un-educational purposes.
The video was posted on YouTube, and the boy has been suspended from school; Patterson police picked up the 16-year-old at his house last week. He will receive home schooling during his suspension and a disciplinary meeting will determine his status for the remainder of the school year.
While officials have yet to release a statement about the incident, a retired J.F.K. teacher, Lee McNulty, stated, “What strikes me is that the teacher never even defended himself. That just shows how much teachers are afraid of losing their job.”
While Jonathan Hodges, a veteran school board member, states, “It’s troubling that in our society today students think that inside a school they can put their hands on each other and teachers as well. “I went online trying to find this video and I found numerous videos of teachers being attacked by their students.”
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward
